Friday, January 22, 2010

Title: "Haunted" episode 2 season 5When: Saturday 23 at 9:00pm ESTSummary: A troubled man experiences a psychotic break and has left five people dead in his wake. The BAU must figure out what triggered the break and find him before he kills again

Title: "Poison" episode 13 season 1 When: Friday, January 22nd 08:00 pm ET and a repeat on Saturday, January 23rd 12:00 am ET Summary: The FBI profilers investigate a series of poisonings that have had deadly consequences in a New Jersey town.

Title: "Riding the Lightning" episode 14 season 1 When: Friday, January 22nd 09:00 pm ET and a repeat on Saturday, January 23rd 01:00 am ET Summary: Gideon makes a shocking discovery when he interviews a husband-and-wife serial killer team two days before their executions.

Title: "Unfinished Business" episode 15 season 1 When: Friday, January 22nd 10:00 pm ET and a repeat on Saturday, January 23rd 02:00 am ET Summary: After disappearing for nearly 20 years, a serial killer contacts the BAU to promise he'll kill again in five days. As the team springs into action, Gideon gets the help of a former colleague who worked the case when it began years ago.

Title: "The Tribe" episode 16 season 1 When: Friday, January 22nd 11:00 pm ET and a repeat on Saturday, January 23rd 03:00 am ET Summary: When five college students are brutally tortured and murdered in a way resembling rituals practiced by Native Americans during the Indian Wars, the team investigates the residents of a nearby Indian reservation to find the killers."

AJ stars as Miranda, a married southern woman whose strong religious conservative beliefs do a complete 180 when she receives what she believes to be a message from God telling her to become a surrogate for a gay couple from Boston. As if hiding the situation from her husband isn't difficult enough, things get further complicated when one of the men (Orlando Jones) comes down South to keep an eye on the woman carrying his child and won't leave. Often light-hearted this comedy/drama touches on several relevant issues: religion, gay marriage, cultural differences, and the debate over same-sex parenting.

If you or someone close to you shows signs of heading toward suicide, please call for help immediately.Don’t know the signs? Here’s a few ways to know if you or someone you know needs help:(taken directly from suicide.org website)

Appearing depressed or sad most of the time.(Untreated depression is the number one cause for suicide.)

Talking or writing about death or suicide.

Withdrawing from family and friends.

Feeling hopeless.

Feeling helpless.

Feeling strong anger or rage.

Feeling trapped -- like there is no way out of a situation.

Experiencing dramatic mood changes.

Abusing drugs or alcohol.

Exhibiting a change in personality.

Acting impulsively.

Losing interest in most activities.

Experiencing a change in sleeping habits.

Experiencing a change in eating habits.

Losing interest in most activities.

Performing poorly at work or in school.

Giving away prized possessions.

Writing a will.

Feeling excessive guilt or shame.

Acting recklessly.

*It should be noted that some people who die by suicide do not show any suicide warning signs.

National Suicide PreventionLifeline1-800-273-TALK (8255), it’s free and available 24/7.

You can also visit suicide prevention websites. These sites give you tips on what signs to look out for, and what you can do to help.

Many in the Criminal Minds fandom were excited to learn that the January 20th episode "Risky Business" promised some long-awaited backstory on our team's press liaison. Great ratings last night...second this season only to the premier. Was this a coincidence? Maybe...but the fact of the matter is, JJ has long been a character that we are very curious about.

"Risky Business", written by Jim Clemente, tells the story of four recent teenage suicides in a small town in Wyoming. JJ feels a personal connection to the case and at the end we find out why.

JJ has this strength of conviction that is very compelling. She showed us again last night that she has great instincts. Hotch believes in her abilities and once again agreed to look into a case when others might have questioned whether the BAU should be involved. The big brother/little sister relationship that Hotch and JJ have is one that isn't showcased enough. Thomas Gibson and AJ Cook have great chemistry together.

We found out last night what helped shape JJ's compassionate side: her sister committed suicide when JJ was eleven. No other details were given so we don't know the reasons why, but JJ experienced a tragic loss at a very early age. It has often been said that JJ exudes so much humanity and kindness when dealing with the families that have lost loved-ones. We now know why. One can only imagine how awful this would have been for her and her family to go through.

Yet, after dealing with a case that struck so close to her heart, what does JJ do after revealing to Hotch that she lost her own sister to suicide? She uses that painful memory to perhaps provide a little hope and comfort to her boss. She tells him that "It does get better, Hotch. Losing someone is never easy but one day you'll remember her and you won't hurt. You'll be happy." Such powerful words.

Wonderful work last night by AJ Cook as well as the rest of our terrific cast. Like Hotch says at the end of the episode, "Thank you for everything."

Wednesday, January 20, 2010

THE BAU TEAM PROFILES A SMALL TOWN SERIES OF TEEN SUICIDES THAT MAY BE LINKED BY THE INTERNET, ON "CRIMINAL MINDS," WEDNESDAY, JAN. 20

"Risky Business" - A rash of startling teen suicides in a small Wyoming town is the focus of a BAU investigation, on CRIMINAL MINDS, Wednesday, Jan. 20 (9:00-10:00 PM, ET/PT) on the CBS Television Network.

Tuesday, January 19, 2010

...But what he really wants to do is direct. Matthew Gray Gubler (aka Dr. Spencer Reid) becomes the first costar to step behind the camera with the March 3 episode, one of three originals scheduled for sweeps. In Gubler's big episode, the BAU tracks a family of killers who owns a crematorium. "I finally got the gumption [last season] to ask, 'What do I have to do to prove that I'm ready to direct?'" says Gubler, who's helmed short films and videos and shadowed exec producer Ed Bernero on a pilot. "My main concern will be creating suspense," he says. As for his fellow actors, "I'd like them to let something new out." If they don't? Jokes Gubler, "I'm gonna fire a few and get rid of the deadweight." But before he does, check out the February 3 installment, which guest stars Sex and the City's David Eigenberg, and the February 10 episode, in which a serial killer terrorizes a small town. "It builds to a spectacular ending," says exec producer Simon Mirren.

Monday, January 18, 2010

As any member of the Round Table can tell you, I am a Mandy Patinkin/Jason Gideon fan and was very sad to see Mandy leave the show. I did not stop watching the show, as many of Mandy’s fans did, and can happily say I love all our characters, our writers, and everyone involved with the show.

I have kept tabs on what Mandy has been doing and want to bring you all quickly up-to-date.

In case you didn’t know, Mandy is an accomplished singer and stage performer. He has recorded several CD’s and has been in several Broadway Musicals. He won a Tony Award for his portrayal of Che Gueverra in Evita and was nominated for a Tony Award for his role as Georges Seuerat in Sunday in the Park with George. Of course, I am prejudiced, but I think he should have won for that role as well! He also starred in the musicals The Secret Garden and The Wild Party on Broadway.

Mandy performs solo concerts throughout the United States and also teams up with his Evita co-star, Patti LuPone, to give fans An Evening with Patti LuPone and Mandy Patinkin. They even went to Australia last summer to perform their show. Mandy doesn’t have any solo concerts scheduled at the moment, but there are some Patti/Mandy concerts scheduled through March 2010. See http://www.avidtouring.com/index.php for a schedule of the performances throughout the country.

The Fall of 2008 saw Mandy as Prospero (pictured above) in Shakespeare’s The Tempest, with the Classic Stage Company (CSC) in New York City. Mandy continued his work with CSC by participating in their Open Rehearsal Series in Much Ado About Nothing in December 2009. I hope he continues his association with CSC. It is a great place to see the Classics.

Mandy also performed his various solo concerts (Dress Casual, Celebrating Sondheim, and Mamaloshen (all in Yiddish)), over a couple of weeks in NYC in December 2008 to celebrate the 20th anniversary of his first concert and then took his show on the road to perform in London in January 2009. Unfortunately, his long-time collaborator and accompanist, Paul Ford, was not able to go to London with him as he had an emergency appendectomy just before they were scheduled to leave for London. Mandy proved the show business adage “the show must go on” by performing with a substitute pianist, Ben Toth, while in London. For those of you who have never been to a Mandy Patinkin concert, it is just Mandy and Paul and a piano. He brings out 2 large baskets of flowers at every concert and sets them at each end of the stage. That’s it. No set dressing. No back curtain. The only props are a bench he sometimes uses and a chair or stool.

Stay tuned as I will continue to let you know what the former CM Song and Dance Man has on tap.

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WHO WE ARE

INTRODUCTION

Welcome to the Criminal Minds Round Table. When we were positing names for this blog, and Sir Bedivere suggested Criminal Minds Round Table, we knew immediately that was the perfect name for our blog.

It fit in so many ways.

Many fans, and Ed Bernero (Criminal Minds' former Showrunner and Executive Producer) himself, compare the show and its characters to The Arthurian Legend and the Knights of the Round Table. Mr. Bernero even went so far as to say that he knew that the stories had to be “Arthurian” to appeal to the most people. The team meets to brief cases at a round table, and there are many parallels between our BAU team and the Knights and other Arthurian characters.

In addition, a Round Table discussion is what we want to have here about any and all topics Criminal Minds-related. In a Round Table discussion, each participant has equal status and equal time to present views. And finally, since this is going to be a group effort amongst a group of Criminal Minds fans, we are going to take turns around the table, with each of us posting about the show, our favorite characters and our favorite actors on the show.